FACT SHEET: DOMESTIC AMATEUR PROPOSAL

Major League Baseball released the following statement today regarding Collective Bargaining:

“Over the last several years, college baseball has undergone a remarkable transformation. Expanded scholarships, NIL opportunities, revenue sharing, and significant investments in facilities and player development have made college baseball an increasingly important pathway that is producing major league-ready talent at an accelerated rate. Today's top programs provide players with resources, competition, and national exposure that were unimaginable a decade ago. Our proposal is designed to build on that momentum to benefit the game at the college, minor league and major league levels. By creating a draft system centered around college-aged players and making most college players eligible one year earlier, more players will benefit from both a college education and an elite development environment while reaching professional baseball — and ultimately the major leagues — more quickly. We believe these changes will strengthen college baseball and deepen fans' connection to the next generation of major league stars. We look forward to working with the MLBPA throughout the bargaining process to modernize the domestic amateur system in a way that benefits players, clubs, and fans.”

How the Domestic Amateur Landscape Has Changed

• More college scholarships available to players (from 11.7 to 34 per program), with programs across college baseball taking advantage of this change
• NIL opportunities and revenue sharing for college players, with the top players making mid-to-high six figures per year
• Colleges have invested in facilities, staff, and technology, with player development resources that rival Major League Clubs
  • NCAA baseball had their most watched regular season since 2012, most watched Regionals on record, most watched Super Regionals since 2009
• College has become increasingly central to developing future Major Leaguers and is becoming increasingly popular with fans
• More top high school players are choosing college baseball than ever before and recognize the value of going to college for their development
  • 75% of Domestic Major Leaguers were developed through college baseball – 88% of whom were not ranked among Baseball America’s Top-200 prospects in high school
  • College players are reaching the Major Leagues faster and are having immediate success
  • Since 2023, 82 college players reached the Majors within 2 years of being drafted — which is more than reached the Majors within 2 years of being drafted from 2016-2022 combined.

Key Highlights of MLB’s Domestic Amateur Proposal to Meet the New Landscape

• Eligibility: effective for the 2028 Draft, players must be 20 years old by September 1 of Draft Year, and at least two years removed from high school graduation (i.e., sophomores in college). Players would not need to be an active college player to be drafted (e.g., a player could be drafted after playing in the MLB Draft League or an Independent League)
  • College players, which represent 81% of drafted players each year, would now be eligible to be drafted one year earlier than the current system
  • 86% of Top-40 college selections in last year’s draft would have been eligible a year earlier under the new eligibility rules
• MLB is proposing separate Domestic and International Drafts with similar structures for each Draft:
  • Equal signing bonus pools in each draft (starting at $200m in 2027)
  • Hard-slotted 12-round draft with unlimited “passed over player” signings
  • Trading of draft selections allowed with certain limitations
    • Selections can only be assigned for the next draft (i.e., 2028 Draft selections can only be traded after the 2027 Draft)
    • Clubs cannot trade away their first-round selections in consecutive Drafts
    • No Club may acquire more than three additional selections within the first three rounds of a given Draft (in addition to a Club’s originally assigned selections in the top three rounds)
  • Up to 10 players selected by MLB will be required to attend the MLB Draft. Players who attend would receive a $50,000 Draft Attendance Bonus
  • Mandatory Draft Combine medical evaluations – More than 85% of invited players have attended the Combine and 64% of invited players have participated in the medical program in the last 3 years
  • The number of Draft Lottery selections subject to the lottery would be reduced from 6 to 4 and no Club would be eligible to receive a lottery selection in three consecutive years
  • Competitive Balance selections eliminated

Benefits of Changing Draft Eligibility

• 85% of players drafted out of high school are committed to Power Four programs. These players would be eligible for full scholarships and NIL/revenue sharing dollars in college for two-plus years
• Players would continue to receive education while developing as baseball players, in many cases getting paid to play in college
  • 75% of high school signees do not make the Major Leagues and those players only used 12% of the Continuing Education funds in their minor league contracts
• Players would make their Major League debuts more quickly after being drafted, increasing interest in the Draft and Minor Leagues​
• Clubs would have more information to evaluate players resulting in a closer correlation between Draft position and talent​
• Increased popularity of college baseball, leading to increased baseball fan engagement at all levels of the sport
• MLB’s proposal will not impact the number of affiliated teams in the PDL system which will remain at 120 as we will not be seeking reductions in the upcoming PDL negotiations in 2030